Interpretive Summary: Many universities sponsor science research programs during the summers to provide hands-on laboratory experience to high school students and teachers. Our objective was to design a project that exposes the students to the full range of research, from developing and testing a hypothesis through presenting research results. The project we designed involved determining the positions of genes for visible traits like short awns. The students participated in all aspects of the research and prepared a short paper and oral presentation for their peers. We report here the positions of five genes affecting visible traits. These experiments provide the necessary components of a successful research project for short-term programs and provide meaningful data to advance our ongoing projects, benefiting both the students and our laboratory.

Technical Abstract:
Many universities sponsor science research programs during the summers to provide hands-on laboratory experience to high school students and teachers. Our objective was to design a project that exposes the students to the full range of research, from developing and testing a hypothesis through presenting research results. The project goal is to map morphological marker traits using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Students learn how to evaluate plants for morphological marker traits, extract DNA, conduct PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and gel electrophoresis, evaluate results, and conduct linkage analysis between traits and markers. Mapping data are presented for five of the barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) traits analyzed since 1997. The genes bracteatum (bra-a.001) and short awn (lks.o) were located on the short arm of chromosome 7H, the glossy phenotype conferred by cer-zv.268 was located near the centromere of chromosome 4H, fragile stem (fst2.b) was located near the centromere of chromosome 1H, and intermedium spike (int-h.42) was located on the short arm of chromosome 5H. These experiments provide the necessary components of a successful research project for short-term programs and provide meaningful data to advance our ongoing projects, benefiting both the students and our laboratory.